


Love Overcomes All

by Roselle_Storm, Vi_olet11



Category: The Jungle Book (2016)
Genre: Akela is alive, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Implied Mpreg, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:43:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roselle_Storm/pseuds/Roselle_Storm, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vi_olet11/pseuds/Vi_olet11
Summary: Shere Khan left the jungle while he was a teenager to learn more about the world, leaving behind his bonded mate, Bagheera. What happens when there is an imposter, intending to kill Mowgli and take Bagheera as his own mate?





	Love Overcomes All

The minute that tiger appeared, Bagheera knew that it was an imposter and not his mate that he had been waiting for. When that tiger started talking about the Law of the Jungle, Bagheera jumped down standing between the tiger and Akela. "Who are you?" Bagheera snarled. 

"Bagheera, what are you talking about? That's Shere Khan," a wolf spoke up. 

"No! That tiger is not Shere," he growled. 

"I know it's hard, dear but you must accept that after 3 winters, Shere Khan has changed," Raksha said gently. 

Bagheera gritted his teeth in irritation. Why can't they just believe him when he said that this imposter wasn't his mate? He doesn't even smell anything like Shere Khan. However, he stayed silent, realising that no one would listen to him or back him up.

He felt his heart grow cold when he heard what the tiger promised to do after the water truce.  **'I have to protect Mowgli,'** the panther thought. 

Just before the water truce ended, Bagheera bumped into the tiger. "Ah, Bagheera my sweet. I've been looking for you," the tiger said. 

Bagheera growled. "Don't call me that." 

"Oh? And what else should I call you, my mate?" the tiger purred. 

A snarl erupted from Bagheera as his hackles raised. "I am not your mate!" 

"But according to everyone here, you are," the tiger said, advancing on the panther. 

"I belong to Shere Khan and to him alone. An imposter like you will never be my mate," Bagheera said, baring his teeth. 

"Is that so? Well, once I've taken my revenge on that man cub, I'll claim you as my mate. And if your precious Shere Khan ever returns, I'll kill him and take my rightful place as King of the Jungle."

"Shere Khan will never lose to the likes of someone like you," Bagheera said angrily. 

"We'll see. However, I can bet that one day, you will bear my cubs."

Bagheera shuddered. "That will never happen," he vowed. 

When the water truce ended, Bagheera was desperate to get Mowgli away from the jungle but he didn't know where they could go.  **'Could that bear help? If I remember, he lives on the edge of the jungle, far away from the wolves.'** He went up to Akela with the suggestion and the wolf agreed.

"Where is this place?" Mowgli asked.

"On the outskirts of the jungle."

"Why are we going there?"

"To keep you away from the tiger."

"Who are you sending me to?"

Bagheera sighed. "A friend."

"Was that tiger, Shere Khan your friend?"

"Yes."

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know but that's not Shere Khan."

"What do you mean? Everyone says he is."

"That tiger is not Shere Khan," Bagheera repeated, his senses on high alert when he heard a slight rustling. He looked around but saw no animal near them. 

"How can you be-"

"Quiet!" Bagheera said, sharply. 

"But, how can you be-"

Bagheera leaped behind Mowgli, blocking the attack that would have killed the man cub. He fell on his side harshly but quickly got up. "Run, Mowgli. Run!"

Growls and snarls followed Mowgli as he started running. A hard slash caused Bagheera to fall on his side, the pain overwhelming him. "Run, Mowgli," he whispered as darkness overtook him. 

When Bagheera awoke, he realised that it was getting dark.  **'I have to find Mowgli,'** he thought, panic filling him. He tried to stand up but his side twinged in pain and he collapsed.  **'Shit, I can't waste time here,'** he growled irritated at himself. 

The panther gritted his teeth and pushed himself to his feet. However, he barely made it 10 steps before his legs gave out again.  **'Ok. This is bad. Don't panic Bagheera. You won't be able to protect Mowgli in this state. You need to heal up a little first.'** he told himself. 

Bagheeraa limped back to his cave, resting in between and when he finally entered the cave, he collapsed, his body trembling. It was times like this that he missed his mate desperately. He dragged himself to the back of the cave where a small bush sat. Its berries had healing properties and Bagheera painstakingly crushed some of the berries and spread it over his wound. He hissed at the initial pain and laid his head on a cool rock, immediately falling asleep. 

The next morning, Bagheera woke up feeling better. His wound didn't hurt so much and he could walk. He instantly set off, determined to find Mowgli as soon as possible. What the panther didn't know, however, was that his mate, the real Shere Khan was on his way to Wolf Rock that very moment. 

Just as he passed by the bottom of the cliff, something fell on him; causing him to lose his balance. 

"Oww," Shere Khan groaned, shaking his head.  **'What fell on me?"** The tiger got up and saw Akela next to him. "Akela? Hey. are you alright?" he asked, nudging the wolf. 

Akela groaned and lifted his head. When he saw Shere Khan, he growled and tried to move to a defensive posture but his foreleg buckled under him. 

"Take it easy. Your leg is badly twisted," Shere Khan said. 

"Stay away from me," Akela growled. 

Shere Khan frowned. "Why? I'm just trying to help."

"Why would you help me? You're the one who threw me off the cliff!"

"What are you talking about? I just arrived."

Akela blinked staring at Shere Khan. "Y-you just arrived?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was going to see Bagheera. I assumed he would be at Wolf Rock at this time."

"But then, that tiger is not you?" Akela asked, confused. 

"I don't understand. What tiger?" 

Akela explained everything to Shere Khan who became furious. "How dare he?" Then a thought struck him. "Wait, did you say he had a burn mark on his face?"

When Akela nodded, Shere Khan snarled. "I should have known. Nanda that cunning bastard." 

"Who's Nanda?'

Shere Khan sighed. "He's the tiger who killed Mowgli's father and just before he was killed, the man used the red flower to scar Nanda. From then on, Nanda wanted revenge on men. He didn't see Mowgli when he ran out of the cave and we found the man cub." Shere Khan smiled a little at the memory. "He walked towards Bagheera without fear as I went to check on his father and when I came out, I saw Mowgli reaching out and touching Bagheera. It was sweet and I knew immediately that Bagheera would not kill the man cub."

Akela smiled then his expression turned somber. "This Nanda character however, has ruined your reputation." 

"I don't care about that. I just need to find my mate safe." Shere Khan declared. 

"He took Mowgli to Baloo," Akela informed him. 

"Then he is safe for the time being. Come on. Follow me. We can't do anything here now. We'll have to think of a plan and come back."

Akela pushed himself to his feet and limped after the tiger. Shere Khan led the wolf to his cave and the minute he stepped in, Bagheera's lingering scent hit him hard. Shere Khan closed his eyes, missing the black panther terribly and he cursed himself for taking so long to return, despite it being for a good cause. Then a coppery tang hit his nose and Shere Khan's eyes snapped open. 

 **'Blood? It's Bagheera's.'** He followed the smell to the berry bush and sighed a little.  **'At least he took the berries.'** The tiger took some of the berries and applied it to Akela's sprained paw. 

"That feels better. Thank you." 

Shere Khan nodded, not saying anything. 

"I'm sorry," Akela said, breaking the silence. 

"Whatever for?" the tiger asked, confused. 

"For not trusting you and believing that tiger was you. I should have listened to Bagheera."

Shere Khan frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"He was the one who tried to tell us that Nanda was an imposter but no one believed him." 

A warm feeling rose in Shere Khan. "It's alright. I don't blame you. We just have to stop Nanda now. Rest, we'll think of a plan later." 

Akela nodded. "Alright." 

Meanwhile, Bagheera had just gotten news of Akela's death and his heart clenched painfully. Akela had been a good friend and had been the deciding factor to take Mowgli in. He bowed his head and roared out to the skies.  **'Rest in peace Akela,'** he thought, his heart filling with sadness. 

He journeyed until he reached Baloo's territory. There, Bagheera followed Mowgli's scent to the river where he saw the man cub riding on Baloo's stomach and a smile curved at his lips. Later that day, Bagheera told Baloo about Akela's death and the bear was horrified. "Did Khanny really do that?" Baloo asked. 

"No!" Bagheera snarled. "That imposter is not Shere." 

"Woah, you're really uptight, Baggy. Even more than usual." 

Bagheera sighed. "Sorry, I'm just tired." 

That night, Bagheera and Baloo watched as Mowgli saved the elephant cub and Baloo commented after Mowgli passed them to go to sleep. "That kid is really special."  

"Of course he is. I raised him." Bagheera smirked. 

The next morning, Baloo and Mowgli were having fun while Bagheera kept an eye out from on top a tree. Then, Mowgli was kidnapped by the monkeys and his two friends raced after him. They found Mowgli but Mowgli had learnt about Akela's death

"We were going to tell you," Bagheera said helplessly. 

"You knew! You knew and didn't tell me!" Mowgli yelled angrily. He took off again, intending to find the tiger and Baloo and Bagheera rushed after him, wanting to stop him.

They located Mowgli facing the tiger, the imposter with a spear in hand. "Why is everyone gathered here?" Bagheera asked Raksha when he noticed that all the jungle animals had gathered. 

"Shere Khan threatened to kill anyone who doesn't show up to watch him kill the man cub."

Unknown to everyone, Akela and the real Shere Khan were hiding nearby. 

 **'Bagheera,'** Shere Khan thought, his heart clenching when he saw his mate. 

"We have to help them. Shere Khan, I think you should wait here. That way we can double the element of surprise and also so that the animals won't attack you in misunderstanding."

Shere Khan nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea." He settled on the ground, intending to watch them fight and only step in if he really needs to. 

Then, they heard Nanda saying. "It was your fault that Akela's dead."

"Guess that's my cue." Akela jumped out in the midst of the animals. "Are you sure about that?!"

Everyone stared at him shocked and Bagheera caught a famaliar scent of pine and musk.  **'Shere?'** However, just as he thought that, the smell shifted and Bagheera sighed.  **'No, it couldn't be him. It has only been 3 winters. He should only be back by the 5th winter.'**

Bagheera shook himself out of his daze just to hear Akela say. "Mowgli is my son. He is part of this pack!"

With those words, all the wolves rushed at the tiger. Nanda snarled and fought all of them, throwing off some of the wolves. Baloo grunted as he stepped into the fight.

Shere Khan watched as Baloo was knocked down and his mate stepped into the fight. The rest of the animals backed away as Bagheera attacked the tiger.  **'Cowards,'** Shere Khan thought, standing up.  **'They want to leave Bagheera to do all the work.'** But even as he watched the fierce fight, it was obvious to him that Bagheera couldn't win. 

The tiger was more powerful than his mate. Nanda knocked Bagheera down and pressed the panther's head down to the ground as he leaned down, his teeth close to the bond mark that Shere Khan had made. 

That did it.

Shere Khan leapt at the other tiger, a possessive roar erupting from his throat as he effortlessly knocking the tiger off Bagheera. Shere Khan quickly got up from where he rolled and went back to his mate. He kept an eye on Nanda even as he licked the trembling panther, grooming him to get rid of the other tiger's lingering scent. 

"Shere," Bagheera muttered, eyes half-closed at the feel of that famaliar tongue and comfort washed over him.

"I'm here, Bagheera," the tiger whispered, nuzzling the panther. 

When Bagheera's trembling ceased, Shere Khan turned to Nanda; eyes blazing with fury. His voice was low with controlled anger and it sent stabs of fear into everyone who heard him.

"I don't care that you tarnished my reputation. I don't care that you entered my territory. I don't even care that you want to kill me. However," Shere Khan's eyes shadowed. "You crossed the line when you tried to kill my friends, the man cub and especially," the tiger looked up, his eyes glowing red. "When you tried to lay claim on  _MY_ mate!"

Shere Khan growled as the other took a few steps back, fear striking him. Whispers echoed around them but Shere Khan paid no attention to them as he leapt at Nanda, a roar deep in his throat. Bagheera raised his head and his heart skipped a beat as he watched his mate battle. 

The fight was harsh, brutal and downright terrifying. Bagheera heard whispers of scared animals, worried about who will emerge the victor. The panther pushed himself to his feet just as the outcome was decided. 

With blood dripping down his claws and muzzle, the victor approached Bagheera.

"Shere," the panther whispered. 

"I'm home, Bagheera."

Bagheera sagged in relief. "Welcome home," he said, rubbing the top of his head under Shere Khan's chin as Shere Khan groomed himself; eyes amused by his mate.

"Are you the real Shere Khan?" Mowgli asked. 

"Why, have you forgotten me so quickly, man cub?" Shere Khan teased. He straightened up and addressed the animals, Bagheera by his side. "That tiger's name is Nanda and he is very cunning. He probably impersonated me to get revenge on Mowgli due to their shared past."

"What do you mean shared past?"

"He killed your father, Mowgli," Bagheera said softly.  

"And your father marked him with the red flower." Shere Khan continued. "I apologise if my absence had caused any problems for all of you but I will remain in the forest from now on, by my mate's side."

"So it's true?" Someone yelled out. "Bagheera is your mate and will be queen of the jungle?" 

Bagheera raised his head. "Yes," he answered. "Shere Khan is my mate and I will reign by his side." 

Akela stepped forward. "That is good to hear and we too apologise for believing that you would harm us intentionally."

Shere Khan inclined his head as the animals slowly left until only Shere Khan and Bagheera remained with the imposter's corpse. 

"Let's return home, my sweet." Shere Khan said, nuzzling Bagheera. The panther sighed. "Yes." 

The two went back to their cave and Bagheera pulled the curtain of leaves close. Bagheera figured out how to make them from watching the man village and enlisted help from Mowgli. They even had spaces for air and light to enter their cave. 

"My love," Shere Khan whispered, licking the top of Bagheera's head. "I missed you." 

Bagheera let out a breath and opened those beautiful golden eyes to look at his mate. "I missed you so much, Shere."

The tiger growled when he caught a whiff of Nanda's scent on his mate. "I hate him," Shere Khan said as he groomed the panther again, more thoroughly this time. Bagheera submitted to Shere Khan's administrations, feeling love course over him. He turned on his back, baring his neck and belly submissively to the bigger cat. "Mate with me, Shere," he said shyly. 

Shere Khan was struck speechless as he stared down at the tantalizing sight his mate made and he leaned down, biting down on the bond mark and renewing their bond. 

They mated for hours until they were both exhausted and Bagheera was so full of Shere Khan's seed that he was sure he was going to get pregnant. Bagheera was special. He was a male cat who could bear cubs due to a curse put on his ancestors by a shaman. 

"I'm sorry I left you for so long," Shere Khan said as Bagheera nuzzled close to his side. 

"You needed to learn about the world. I do not blame you, Shere. We mated when we were kids. Neither of us were ready to rule, nor to be parents but we thought love could overcome all." Bagheera laughed quietly, cynical

"We were naive," Shere Khan agreed. "But you didn't take another mate. You waited for me."

Bagheera hummed. "As you stayed loyal to me."

"You're the only one for me, Bagheera. The only one I will mate with. The only one who will bear my cubs. My Queen."

The panther licked his mate. "I love you Shere. And I trust you with my life. My King." 

"I love you too, Bagheera. I will not leave you from now on." 

With the two in their rightful place by each others side, the two rulers of the jungle drifted off to sleep. 

 

* * *

 

"Father! Father! Will you teach us to hunt today?" Two cubs looked up at the big tiger. 

Shere Khan chuckled. "Ask your mother if you are ready." 

"Mother! Please, will you let us go with you?"

The black panther glared slightly at his mate before replying. "Alright but stay close to us." 

The tiger and panther cub cheered as Bagheera stood and shook his fur out. Shere Khan followed suit and the two nudged their cubs into the sunlight. 

"Now who wants to follow your mother into the trees?" Shere Khan asked as Bagheera leapt up gracefully. 

"Can I, father?" Rishi, their son asked. 

"Of course, son. Up you go," Shere Khan gave his son a boost as Bagheera's teeth closed around the scruff of his neck, pulling the tiger cub up. Rishi may have his father's orange stripped skin but his personality was an exact match of Bagheera's and he hung on to every word the black panther taught him. 

Down below, Shere Khan was teaching their daughter, Amari. Amari bore her mother's black skin with her father's temperamental and Bagheera caught his mate's eye, love clear in his gaze. 

Shere Khan looked at him quizzically but Bagheera merely smiled and turned back to his son. 

As Shere Khan watched his little family, his mind went back to Bagheera's words the night they were reunited. 

_Neither of us were ready to rule, nor to be parents but we thought love could overcome all._

**'We were right,** **Bagheera,'** he thought.  **'Love really does overcome all.'**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Right, this fanfic has been sitting in my cupboard for a long time until I finally finished it with my sister, Violet's help. Sorry if the characters are a little OOC. I hope you enjoyed it!


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